John’s “Pieces of April” flashback review, Nov. 26, 2020 “Pieces of April” – This indie charmer has two main plotlines. Well-intentioned bad cook April (Katie Holmes) fumbles her way through preparation of a Thanksgiving meal […]
“Freaky Friday” – If you’ve seen their previous work, you’ll know that Jamie Lee Curtis as a teenager trapped in an adult’s body and Lindsay Lohan as an adult trapped in a teenager’s body isn’t […]
“About a Boy” — This is the latest film adapted from a novel by witty Brit Nick Hornby (“High Fidelity”). Featuring Hugh Grant as a 30-something layabout, “About a Boy” features even more of Hornby’s […]
John’s Throwback Thursday review, Sept. 24, 2026 “E.T. The Extra Terrestrial” — This 20th Anniversary release allows Steven Spielberg fans to go back to a time when a simple movie about intergalactic friendship could make […]
John’s “Unbreakable” flashback review, May 4, 2019 NDSU Spectrum: Movie review Shyamalan’s latest casts an unbreakable spell By JOHN HANSEN Dec. 1, 2000 There have been movies about superheroes before. There have been movies exploring […]
“Kevin (Probably) Saves the World” (8 p.m. Eastern Tuesdays on ABC) is both the most original show of the fall TV slate and very familiar. Let me explain: On one hand, there’s nothing else like it […]
TV review: It sounds basic now (the story of a family of five in Pasadena), but “Family” revolutionized the hour-long drama.
There are safe tear-jerkers, like TV’s “This Is Us” (where we kind of chuckle at the fact that it makes us cry), and then there are brutal ones, like “Manchester by the Sea” (2016, now streaming on […]
One-season wonders (TV review): This short-lived series captures the spirit of 1976 and its sociopolitical issues.
Having already been renewed through its third season, “This Is Us” is a show we’ll be talking about for a while. After last Tuesday’s Season 1 finale, I Facebooked that it successfully made me cry in 18 […]